When Dad does dinner, it doesn’t have to be greasy, guilt-inducing take-out. Here are some easy ways for making meals healthy for Mom and kids. Plus, check out easy recipes for dads and moms alike…

Dad doesn’t have to be a whiz with the frying pan to whip up a yummy, nutritious meal. Here, a few kitchen-savvy top chefs serve up their best moves – from shopping tips to seasoning and searing – for creating easy dinners without breaking the bank.

Dad Cooking Tip #1: Smart ways to saveCoupons are key to saving money, but dads can cut grocery bills in other ways.

For example, ask workers in the produce, meat and fish sections about what’s freshest and on sale, advises Sam Zien, a.k.a. Sam the Cooking Guy, star of TV’s “Just Cook This!” and author of Sam the Cooking Guy: Just Grill This! (Wiley).

You might uncover a deal you’d miss otherwise, he says.

But don’t just wing it either.

“Always go with a shopping list, so you don’t buy things you don’t need and end up wasting,” says David Barry, a chef and teacher at the Culinary Institute of America.

Also, if you have room in your backyard, start a garden, he says. Tomatoes, zucchini and squash are easy to grow and work in many crowd-pleasing dishes.

Dad Cooking Tip #2: Making meals healthyIf Dad has great standby but unhealthy recipes, don’t ditch them. Instead, substitute in a few healthier ingredients. For example, use low-fat or fat-free ingredients like ricotta, sour cream and other cheeses in creamy or cheesy dishes like lasagna.

Don’t worry about losing the flavor, Zien says.

“‘Fat-free’ doesn’t mean taste-free anymore,” he says.

Or follow the lead of Adam Patro, a dad in New York who cooks most nights for his family. When Patro whips up a burger or pasta with meat sauce, he uses ground turkey or chicken – both are much leaner than ground beef.

For desserts, Barry uses the natural sweetener Stevia, which is sweeter than sugar without as many calories.

Dad Cooking Tip #3: Stock your kitchenFresh herbs are at the top of the experts’ lists of healthy ingredients. So keep your kitchen supplied with homegrown basil, thyme, rosemary and other useful varieties grown on a sunny windowsill.

No green thumb? Use frozen cubes of chopped or pureed herbs, sold at some markets such as Trader Joe’s. Add them to a stir-fry, sautés and soups or to spice up everyday condiments. For example, thawed cilantro mixed into low-fat sour cream equals cilantro crema, a delicious addition to tacos.

Refrigerated herb pastes, available at most grocery stores, are another alternative.

You’ll also want to have:

Extra virgin olive oil for salads

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Cans or boxes of organic chicken stock for sauces and soups

Ready-made spice mixes for chicken, steak or fish

A few Asian sauces, like soy sauce, chili paste and sesame oil to add a kick to fish, poultry and beef

Steel bowls of varying sizes to keep ingredients separate and veggies after chopping

A slow cooker for nights when dinner will be late. Pop in ingredients in the morning before you leave for work, and dinner’s ready when you get home.

Dad Cooking Tip #5: Time-Savers Dad Will LoveNo one wants to spend all evening cooking. Here are a few ways to slash your kitchen time:

Do a lot of the prep beforehand. For example, if you plan to have salad and barbecue skewers for dinner, cut up what you need for both dishes the night or morning before, and store them in the fridge, Zien advises. Marinate the skewers in advance.

Freeze, heat and serve. Barry buys chicken breasts in bulk (which also saves money). He then marinates, breads and cooks the poultry, then divides it into meal portions and pops it in the freezer to use later in the week or month.

Even pasta dishes like baked ziti can be made in large batches and frozen in small serving sizes to eat later.

Multitask. While the main dish is cooking, prepare a simple salad or other side dish.

Clean as you go. Clearing counters of clutter, washing and putting dishes away as you’re making meals, and putting everything back in its place after using is “the most effective way to make every day cooking quick and painless,” Patro says.

When you roast vegetables or meats, line the pan with tinfoil for even less post-meal mess.

Sear meats, poultry and seafood. It offers fabulous results in record time. For example, Zien cooks scallops on high heat in a non-stick skillet for two minutes on each side, which gives them a beautiful color and brings out the flavor.

To avoid meat where the outside is done, but the center isn’t, Zien says to choose evenly-sized pieces of meats – or cut them to size.

To cook a chicken breast evenly every time, put it in a zippered plastic bag with a little oil and pound it until it’s 1/2-inch thick, Zien advises.

“Now you can grill, poach, broil or fry it, and it will cook evenly,” he says.